45
by Loverseyes
Summary: 45


1

She hadn't meant to push _him_ away. A part of her knew that there was nothing she could do about it once they got off of the train. They acted as best they could, but she could feel the distance in the way _he_ held _himself_.

2

They hadn't talked for days. _He_ did a good job of avoiding her and she did nothing to acknowledge _his_ presence. She knew _he_ needed space but the longer _he_ stayed away, the worse she felt.

3

She tried spending more time with her family, but the interactions were horrible. They were scared to say anything in case it triggered a fit of tears. She hated that, another thing the games had taken from her.

4

Hunting with him wasn't the same. She no longer felt as though she could interact normally with him. He was aggressive and rough, throwing himself at anything he thought would frighten her. She hated him for that.

5

She tried not to think about _him_ , tried not to look at _his_ house. But the warm glow from the windows drew her eyes. She wanted to see _him_ , to talk to _him_. But she was at fault and she was too stubborn to apologize.

6

He had kissed her. In the woods under the oak. He tasted of oranges. She knew this wasn't right, she could feel it deep in her stomach but she did nothing to pull away. He pulled her closer tried to go further. She wanted to deny him but she couldn't.

7

When he came to apologize for his kisses, she brushed him off. Saying that nothing had happened and there was nothing for him to apologize for. She didn't feel that way though. She felt dirty because she wanted _him_ , but instead she settled for Gale.

8

Gale stayed away for a while, giving her time to wallow in her sadness. But the more she sat alone, the worse she felt. Her sister tried to comfort her but nothing she did was enough. Katniss still felt hollow.

9

They had come face to face for the first time since she told _him_ off on the train. _His_ hair was unruly. Sticking out in multiple places. _His_ hands were stained and _his_ shirt was rumpled. _He_ looked how she felt: like a mess.

10

 _He_ started to leave _his_ house more. She often watched _him_ from her window. She wanted to follow _him_. _He_ always returned with a smile on _his_ face. She wished to know the reason for it, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.

11

When it had become too much for her to take, she followed _him._ She was silent, ducking into shadows and keeping a distance between them. If anyone saw her they would have thought she was ridiculous.

12

She started spending more and more time at the hob, sitting in a corner of Greasy Sae's place, away from the crowd. She watched _him_ , memorized _his_ features. She started to inch closer to where she knew _he_ would be.

13

Since _he_ opened shop in the Hob, the bakery was constantly busy. They had lowered prices and in exchange had gotten more customers. _He_ had changed _his_ business for the better. Not that _he_ needed the money, _he_ was just trying to help those around _him_.

14

 _He_ had always been better than her, but she couldn't stand the girls who slung themselves around _him_. Both seam and merchant, these girls seemed to keep trying to get together with the victor who seemed to no longer be involved with _his_ allie.

15

She's not sure what made her do it. But she ended up in front of _his_ stall. Her steely eyes staring into _his_ blue ones. _He_ had a soft smile on _his_ lips. She wanted to call _him_ out but she couldn't. Instead, she reached over the stall and brought her face to _his_.

16

The next day she found herself at _his_ stale again. She was doing what Gale had done, throwing apologize at _him_. _He_ once again brushed them off with a smile. She started to panic, running back to her corner and sitting there until her nerves settles.

17

 _He_ found her in her corner, a cupcake in _his_ hand. _He_ placed it in front of her and slide into the seat across from her. _He_ didn't try to speak and neither did she. Rather she reached for the cupcake and took a tentative bite. The icing smeared her face. _He_ smiled.

18

She started to met _him_ at _his_ stale everyday now. _He_ welcomed her, offering her something different each time. She took it with a smile, they still hadn't really spoken but at least they were interacting again.

19

The girls who used to hang around _him_ spent much of their time muttering and shooting her dirty looks. She tried to brush them off. She was too busy watching _him_ work. She decided she liked to watch _him_ work.

20

 _He_ trained others so _he_ could spend more time with her. Nobody could master it as well as _him_. So instead _he_ baked everything early and let the others handle the packing and register so _he_ could spend more time with her.

21

When she asked _him_ why _he_ trusted the poor with money, _he_ laughed at her. _He_ told her _he_ didn't need the money and didn't care much if they took it. _He_ would have handed out the bread for free, but _he_ didn't want to destroy his family's business.

22

When _he_ reached for her hand, she didn't pull away. It felt great to feel _his_ warm palm pressed against hers. She tried to lock her fingers in _his_. She didn't want to let _him_ go again. _He_ laughed when she rubbed her thumb across _his_ knuckle. She smiled. She hadn't felt this giddy in a long time.

23

The next time she saw Gale, she was walking with Peeta. She wasn't sure why but she wanted to turn away and run. She had never offered Gale any closer, and she knew that Gale seeing her here with him would not help her case in anyway shape or form

24

She had set up a time to met with Gale in the woods. She owed him that much. Gale, of course, would have none of it. He left her alone in the woods. Look off in the direction he had left. She missed him already.

25

She found herself outside Gale's door before she knew what she was doing. She wanted to scream at him. To tell him what he had said to her was wrong. That he didn't know her, but her voice cracked and she ended up crying right there in front of his door.

26

The announcement of the games hit her like a bullet. It left her devastated. She felt sick. So much so that when Peeta tried to hug her she threw up on _his_ shoulder like a baby. She was going back in.

27

Peeta tried not to mention it, but it devastated _him_ that she would have to go back into the games. There would only be 12 competitors this time. Twelve victors, all girls, all experienced. _He_ was scared for her but there was nothing _he_ could truly do about it.

28

The night after the reaping she had not slept. Her name was the only one in the bowl, they had only held the reaping due to a tradition. _He_ stood next to her, stony and tough, _he_ was her rock. Haymitch had not showed up. Poor old man couldn't actually take the news.

29

She wanted to forget that she was going into the games and she only knew one way. Peeta didn't seem to question her actions and only ended up going along with it. Although it hurt, it felt nice to have something that distracted them both from their nearing doom.

30

They dressed her up smoky. She could see it in _his_ eyes. The way _his_ gaze lingered made her blush, but she wasn't as innocent anymore, and sitting here in her costume she felt powerful.

31

 _He_ could barely wait till they got back into the room. _He_ whispered sweet nothings into her ear. She nodded along although she wasn't really interested in what _he_ was saying, she had so much else to be thinking about.

32

Haymitch didn't say anything to them but he could see it in their eyes. She needed to win. Peeta was working so hard to initiate her with some strong tributes, hoping that would be enough to keep her busy while he thought of a plan to get her out.

33

She tried to busy herself with training, but she had the feeling someone was watching her. The people around her, however, seemed disconnected. Most of them worried about themselves to even shoot her a glance. Good.

34

Peeta tried desperately in vain to coach her before the interviews. She had never been as good as _him_ however. She did not have a silver tongue. Rather she stumbled on her words. _Him_ , seeing that _his_ attempts were failing, allowed her to just go off, to say whatever she found fitting. It wouldn't matter anyway.

35

The crowd went wild at her dress. When it burned into a mockingjay she couldn't help but feel bad for Cinna. She kept her eyes trained on a rather unimpressed Peeta however. She needed to drop a match, to light up the bomb that the others had built up. She wasn't 100 percent sure why she said it, but everything after that fell into chaos.

36

Neither Peeta nor Haymitch scolded her for what she said. Peeta kept trying to catch her eyes hoping that _he_ could figure out if what she said was real or not. She shook her head. She said her goodbyes to Haymitch before returning to her room. She wasn't really in the mood to do anything so they laid on the bed in a desperate attempt to sleep.

37

Sleep never came so when she parted from _him_ in the morning, her body seemed to deflate. The tears were flowing from her prep team. Cinna, however, did not cry, he escorted her to the tube and awaited her ascent.

38

The sun was impossibly bright, mixed with the image of Cinna's beaten body she felt as though she had been thrown into a nightmare. The air was humid. When the gong rang, she leaped she had to get ahold of her weapon.

39

Four tributes were killed in the bloodbath. Two of which Katniss knew she was responsible for. It was scary for her to think. To realize how quickly she had become truly deadly, how each time she had pulled her bow string she had shot to kill.

40

Everyone seemed to be getting killed off quickly. By the fourth day, another three had died leaving only five tributes left. It felt that each place she went, she was met by a new nightmare. Eventually she resorted to hiding at the edge of the jungle there she could easily avoid the fears that struck every hour.

41

She had killed another tribute. She had started to lose track of who was left, whether it was due to the exhaustion or the hot weather she wasn't sure. Somehow, she found herself in a cave and once again she to relax.

42

She was awoken by the sound of a cannon followed by the announcement of a feast. The instant a parachute fell she knew Peeta was trying to tell her something. Inside it was a single roll. There was one person in her way.

43

When the cannon went off she collapsed. She was exhausted and felt as though her body was going to fail her soon. Stuck somewhere between awake and asleep she was carried into a hovercraft.

44

This hovercraft was different from the one she remembered last year. She heard the murmuring of voices and when she opened her eyes she was lying on the floor. Pushing herself to seated she pulled the nearest sharp item she could and prepared to attack.

45

She was met with the piercing blue of Peeta's eyes before she even realized what was happening. She leaped on _him_. She had missed _him_. There was a sadness on _his_ face and when he spoke, _he_ nearly had to hold her back.

End


End file.
